Card register and cabinet.



T. F. LEAHY.

CARD REGISTER AND CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, 1913.

1,089,484. Patented Mar.10,1914.

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THOMAS F. LEAHY, OF EVANSI'ON, ILLINOIS.

CARD REGISTER AND CABINET.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. LEAHY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Card Registers andCabinets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to a card register and cabinet particularlyadapted for use in hotels and other public places where a record of theguests is kept and is designed to supplant the ordinary book: hotelregister, so that the guest may register directly upon a card which isfiled away in accordance with a card index system and referred to fromtime to time as required.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which will at all times present a number of cards in positionto be written. upon, which shall be so constructed that the cards can besuccessively withdrawn and filed away, which will provide compartmentsin an accessible position for writing-paper, envelops, and the like,which will afford an opportunity for the tasteful display of advertisingmatter, and the like, and which will be strong, compact, ornamental andserviceable.

On the accompanying drawings I have disclosed one preferred embodimentof my invention from an observation of which, when considered inconnection with the following description, the invention will be readilyunderstood.

Referring to the drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cardregister and cabinet embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 3is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

On the drawings reference character indicates generally the body of thedevice which, for convenience, is preferably constructed of sheet-metalsuitably plated to present a pleasing appearance, the top being inclinedto afiord a convenient rest for the persons writing upon the cards andthe bottom being preferably left open to permit access to the interiorthereof for the insertion and arrangement of advertising material, orthe like, as will be later described.

The upper face of the body is formed to provide a centrally disposeddepression or recess 6, best shown in Fig. 3, into and overSpecification of Letters Patent.

AppIication filed February 3, 1913.

Patented Mar. 10, 1914.

Serial No. 745,793.

which a card-receiving frame or top, designated generally by referencecharacter 7, is adapted to fit. This frame or top which is preferablyhinged as at 8 to the body is divided by suitably arranged partitionsinto a plurality of card-receiving sections or compartments, sixcompartments being shown in the present instance, although it will bemanifest that the number may be increased or diminished, if desired. Thepartitions between the compartments are preferably provided at theirtops with overhanging flanges 9 which overlie the margins of the cards11 in the compartments and prevent the cards from being removed upwardlybut leave the faces of the cards eX- posed in position to be writtenupon. The bottoms of the partitions are likewise formed to providesupporting flanges 12 upon which followers 13, preferably formed ofmetal, are adapted to rest. These followers are normally urged upwardlyin their respective compartments when the frame is in a lowered positionby means of leaf-springs 14 secured upon the bottom 15 of the depression 6 in position to engage the followers, whereby the uppermostcard in each pack is held against the retaining flanges 9 and inposition to be written upon. The sides 16 of the frame are open a shortdistance above the upper side edges of the depression ('3, leaving slotsor openings 17 through which the cards may be withdrawn from thecompartments, one card partially withdrawn being shown in dotted linesin Fig. 1. W hen a guest has written upon any one of the cards the clerkplaces his fingers upon the face of the card and forces it out wardlythrough the slot 17 until the end can be grasped, whereupon the card canbe completely withdrawn and filed away. In order to prevent thefollowers 18 from being withdrawn with the last card of the stack, Iprefer to equip the inner edges of each follower with one or moredownwardly projecting pins 18 which project through suitable aperturesin the flanges 12 at the rear of each compartment. This constructiondoes not interfere with freedom of movement of the followers up and downin the compartment but prevents their accidental displacement orwithdrawal from the con'ipartments along with the cards. A suit ablespring-pressed latch 19 is preferably employed to lock the frame inclosed posi tion.

- ed to provide a plurality of compartments or pigeon-holes 21 and 22,respectively, adapted to contain paper and envelops, or the like, fromwhich they may be readily withdrawn by the clerk and supplied to theguests as required. The side portions of the top at each side of thecard-receiving frame are preferably inclined toward the edge of thebody, as indicated at 23 and 2a, and suitable plates of glass 25 and 26are set in openings formed therein and a similar plate of glass 27 isset in an opening at the lower end of the frame, these plates ofv glassbeing adapted to cover advertising placards, or the like, positionedbeneath them. For the purpose of holding the ad vertising placards inposition I provide beneath each glass plate a shelf 28 pivoted to thebody at 29 and constructed to hold a card 31, or the like, upon whichadvertising matter appears. Suitable thumb-bolts 32 may be employed tohold the shelves in position and upon loosening these bolts the shelvesmay be dropped down so that the advertising placard may be removed andreplaced with another whenever desired. At the upper end of thecard-receiving frame the body is preferably provided with sockets toreceive ink wells 33 and match or tooth-pick holders 34;. A matchscratcher 35 and a callbell 36 may be mounted thereon, if desired, or,the device may be equipped with a penholder, or any other preferredarticles of utility or ornamentation.

When the card-receiving frame is to be supplied with cards it is swungupwardly about its pivot hinge 8, thereby relieving the followers of thespring-pressure and, also, completely opening the ends of thecompartments so that a pack of cards can be readily inserted in eachcompartment. The frame is then closed so that the cards are inaccessible position to be written upon. The guests write upon any of thecards which are then removed by the clerk, as previously described, andfiled away for future reference. So long as one or more cards remain inany compartment the uppermost card is always held at the top of thecompartment against the marginal flanges 9 in position to be writtenupon. The cards may be readily withdrawn as used and a new supply may bereadily inserted when required. The device is neat, compact, carries anumber of accessories necessary or, at least, desirable in connectionwith a hotel register and, also, affords considerable space foradvertising display.

It is believed that my invention will be readily understood from theforegoing without further description and, while I have shown anddescribed one practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, itwill be obvious that its structure is capable of considerablemodification within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A card register cabinet comprising a body having a recess in itsupper face, said upper face at opposite sides of the recess beinginclined downwardly and outwardly from the recess, a frame mounted inthe recess and provided with a card-containing compartment open at itstop and bottom to expose the top and bottom cards of a pack of cards inthe compartment, a springpressed follower in the compartment, saidcompartment having its top portion extending above the body and providedwith a transverse slot in the upwardly projecting portion and at theadjacent inclined portion of the body, through which slot the uppermostcard in the compartment may be withdrawn across the inclined portion ofthe body.

2. A card register cabinet comprising a body having a recess in itsupper face, said upper face at opposite sides of the recess beinginclined downwardly and outwardly from the recess, a frame mounted inthe recess and provided with a card-containing compartment open at itstop and bottom to expose the top and bottom cards of a pack of cards inthe compartment, a springpressed follower in the compartment, saidcompartment having its top portion extending above the body and providedwith a transverse slot in the upwardly projecting portion and at theadjacent inclined portion of the body, through which slot the uppermostcard in the compartment may be withdrawn across the inclined portion ofthe body, the spring-pressed follower and the frame having a pin andopening engagement to permit vertical movement of the follower andprevent edgewise displacement of said follower through the slot.

3. A card register cabinet comprising a body having a recess in itsupper face, a frame mounted in the recess and provided with acard-containing compartment open at its top and bottom to expose the topand bottom cards of a pack of cards in the compartment, a spring-pressedfollower in the compartment, said compartment having its top portionextending above the body and provided with a transverse slot, the top ofthe body at opposite sides of the frame being below the slot.

4. A card register cabinet comprising a body having a recess in itsupper face, a frame in the recess and provided with a card-containingcompartment open at its top and bottom to expose the top and bottomcards of a pack of cards in the compartment, the bottom of thecompartment being provided with a substantially horizontalinwardly-directed flange, a spring pressed follower within thecompartment and above the flange, said compartment projecting above thebody and provided with a transverse slot in said projecting portion, thetop of the body at opposite sides of the frame being below the slot, andsaid follower being provided with a pin depending through an opening inthe flange compartment.

THOMAS F. LEAHY. Witnesses IRA J. WILSON, M. A. KIDDIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

